The departure of Brent Pry to Virginia Tech figured to lead to a staff member or two leaving Penn State for Blacksburg. And it appears that will be the case for another longtime staff member Penn State head coach James Franklin could rely on.
According to a report from The Athletic college football reporter Bruce Feldman, via Twitter, director of football operations Michael Hazel will be joining Pry at Virginia Tech.
SOURCE: Michael Hazel, Penn State’s Sr. Dir. of Football Ops, is leaving to be chief of staff for Brent Pry at Va. Tech. Hazel came to PSU fm Vandy w/ James Franklin & played a key role behind the scenes particularly in how PSU was able to keep putting together excellent staffs.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 3, 2022
This would be a significant addition for Pry, the former Penn State defensive coordinator who is now the head coach at Virginia Tech. Hazel has been a part of Franklin’s staff since their time at Vanderbilt. Hazel was among the assistants and staff members who followed Franklin to Penn State when he was hired to be the head coach of the Nittany Lions. Like Pry, Franklin could come to rely on what Hazel had to offer his staff in more ways than one.
As noted by Feldman, Hazel has been a key figure in helping Penn State form the quality staff of assistants Penn State has had over the years. Although assistants and coordinators have moved on to advance their careers at times, Hazel and Franklin managed to replace those coaches with quality replacements, including the latest addition of former Miami head coach Manny Diaz as the replacement for Pry at defensive coordinator. Hazel was named Football Scoop’s operations director of the year in 2020 and was a two-time finalist before that in 2015 and 2016.
Clearly, this is a tough loss for Franklin and a big gain for Pry at Virginia Tech.
Franklin did not comment much on the possibility of staff members and assistants leaving Penn State in his postgame remarks after the loss to Arkansas in the Outback Bowl, but it was clearly on his mind.
“I think you guys know I’ve been pretty adamant in the past about the type of moves, lateral moves, but there’s also some factors when it comes to where guys are from,” Franklin said when asked specifically about the possibility of special teams coordinator Joe Lorig being pursued by Oregon.
Hazel is a native of South Carolina and went to Vanderbilt and Elon. Although he has no connections to Virginia Tech, he surely has a relationship with Pry after spending so many years together as part of Franklin’s staff.
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